Bar code printing

• US 5,206,490 A
• Filed: 01/28/1991
• Issued: 04/27/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Esselte METO International Produktions GmbH
• Original Assignee: Esselte METO International Produktions GmbH
• Inventors: Franzen, Peter, Geake, Vincent, Nailor, Paul R., Harry, Alan J., Adelmann, Fred, Petigrew, Robert M., Schoon, Juergen
• Primary Examiner(s): PITTS, HAROLD I
• Application Number:
  US07/646,885
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• Field of Search: 283/81, 283/88, 235/462, 235/468, 235/491, 235/494, 235/454, 235/455, 235/487
• US Class Current: 347/100
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/18 Devices or arrangements for indicating destination, e.g. by code marks applying data to information carriers G06K1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/121 by printing code marks applying code marks to labels B65C9/46; marking or coding completed packages B65B61/26

Abstract

A method of bar code printing is disclosed. The bar code is printed directly onto packaging material associated with the product, and in that the ink used to produce the bar code is such that indicia constituting the bar code can be discriminated regardless of the background onto which the bar code is printed.

Claims

1. A method of applying a bar code to a product, including the steps of measuring a mean albedo of a packaging material associated with the product, selecting a first ink from a set of inks having different albedos and imprinting bar code indicia with said first selected ink on said packaging material so that the ink used to produce the bar code is such that indicia constituting the bar code can be discriminated from the packaging material regardless of the albedo of the packaging material onto which the bar code is printed.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the ink used to generate bar code indicia possesses chromaticity in a region selected from (i) the extremes of the visible spectrum, (ii) the near infra-red spectrum, and (iii) the near ultra-violet spectrum and is generally transparent in the visible part of the spectrum.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein a hand-held bar code application unit is capable of printing bar code indicia using one of a plurality of inks having differing albedos.

5. The method of claim 1 for applying a bar code to a product, further comprising the steps of selecting from said set of inks a second ink having an albedo differing from the albedo of said first selected ink more than the contrast between the albedos of the first selected ink and the package, and applying said second selected ink between bar code indicia formed by said first ink, wherein a machine-readable bar code is provided in instances where there is an insufficient contrast between the albedo of the packaging material and the albedos of said set of inks.

11. The method of claim 5 wherein said second ink is applied simultaneously with an imprinting of identifying bar code indicia with said first selected ink.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of reading the identifying bar code indicia imprinted with said first ink and, if said bar code reading differs from the bar code that was to be imprinted, covering with said first ink said imprinted bar code indicia, selecting a second ink from said set of inks, and imprinting identifying bar code indicia with said second ink over the area covered with said first ink.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of re-reading the identifying bar code indicia imprinted with said second ink and, if said re-read bar code differs from the bar code that was to be imprinted with said second ink, re-covering with said second ink said imprinted bar code indicia, selecting a different ink from said set of inks, and re-imprinting identifying bar code indicia with said different ink over the area re-covered with said second ink.

4. A method of applying a bar code to a product enclosed in a packaging material, including the steps of selecting an ink having chromaticity in the infra-red or ultra-violet regions of the spectrum but substantially no chromaticity in the visible region of the spectrum;

and imprinting bar code indicia with said selected ink onto said packaging material so that said bar code indicia can be discriminated from the packaging material regardless of the chromaticity of the packaging material in the visible range.

6. A hand-held apparatus for imprinting a bar code onto a package, comprising:

hand-held means for measuring a mean albedo of a package to be imprinted;

a plurality of ink stores, each having a different albedo, operatively coupled to said hand-held means;

means, disposed within said hand-held means, for selecting from said ink stores a first ink having an albedo with at least a first pre-determined contrast to the sensed mean albedo of the packaging to be imprinted; and

means for imprinting identifying bar code indicia onto said package with said first selected ink, wherein the hand-held apparatus is capable of imprinting a machine-readable car code onto a variety of packages having differing mean albedos by selecting a highest contrast ink from the ink stores in the hand-held apparatus.

7. The hand-held bar code imprinting apparatus of claim 6 further comprising:

means for selecting from said stores a second ink having at least a second pre-determined contrast to the albedo of said first selected ink, and for imprinting said second ink on said package in regions on the package, between the bar code indicia of the imprinted pattern of said first selected ink, wherein machine-readable bar codes are imprinted on packages having an albedo with insufficient contrast to an albedo of any one of said ink stores.

8. The hand-held bar code printing apparatus of claim 6, wherein one of said ink stores is absorptive in the infra-red spectrum and generally transparent in the visible spectrum.

12. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said second ink selecting means further includes means for simultaneously imprinting said second ink on said package simultaneously with the imprinting of said fist selected ink.

18. The imprinting apparatus of claim 6 further comprising a means for reading said identifying bar code indicia.

19. The imprinting apparatus of claim 18 wherein said bar code reading means includes a light source and a detector.

20. The imprinting apparatus of claim 19 wherein said light source includes a broad spectrum light source and a plurality of selectable filters.

21. The imprinting apparatus of claim 19 wherein said light source includes at least a first light source providing illumination in a first portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and a second light source providing illumination in a second portion of the electromagnetic spectrum relatively distant from said first portion.

22. The imprinting apparatus of claim 18 further comprising means for detecting if imprinted bar code indicia conform to an intended bar code and, if not, for causing said ink imprinting means to cover with said first ink the imprinted bar code indicia, causing said selecting means to select a second ink, and causing said imprinting means to imprint identifying bar code indicia with said second ink onto an area covered with said first ink.

9. A method of applying a bar code to a package, comprising the steps of:

using a hand-held car code print device storing a plurality of inks having differing albedos;

measuring a mean albedo of a package to be imprinted;

selecting from among said plurality of inks a first ink having an albedo with at least a first predetermined contrast to the mean albedo of the package to be imprinted; and

imprinting bar code indicia onto said package with said first selected ink, wherein a variety of packages having differing albedos may be imprinted with a bar code by use of a single hand-held device.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of:

selecting from among said plurality of inks a second ink having an albedo with at least a second predetermined contrast from the albedo of said first selected ink;

imprinting bar code indicia onto said package with said first ink; and

imprinting the second ink onto regions of the package between the bar code indicia imprinted with said first ink, wherein said machine-readable bar code indicia are imprinted onto a package having an albedo of less than a desired contrast to the albedos of any of said plurality of inks.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein said second ink is imprinted simultaneously with the imprinting of said first ink.

16. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of reading the identifying bar code indicia imprinted with said first ink and, if said bar code reading differs from the bar code that was to be imprinted, covering with said first ink said imprinted bar code indicia, selecting a second ink from said set of inks, and imprinting identifying bar code indicia with said second ink over the area covered with said first ink.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of re-reading the identifying bar code indicia imprinted with said second ink and, if said re-read bar code differs from the bar code that was to be imprinted with said second ink, re-covering with said second ink said imprinted bar code indicia, selecting a different ink from said set of inks, and re-imprinting identifying bar code indicia with said different ink over the area re-covered with said second ink.